SeaBasin Checkpoints Arctic: the Svalbard case

In 2015 the European Commission (EC) funded a 3-year project (2015-2018) called 'Sea Basin Checkpoints - lot Arctic' (SBC Arctic) that is executed by a consortium consisting of Arcadis, Wageningen Marine Research, SINTEF and MARIS. This projects examines the current data collection and data assembly programmes in the Arctic sea basin, analyses how these can be optimised and delivers the findings through an internet portal. The project is organised in ten challenges, in which specific questions concerning the marine environment are answered, using existing monitoring and research data. To ensure that all data from the Svalbard region, as hub for international Arctic research, are included and all relevant knowledge gaps are addressed, a 3-day workshop is planned to take place in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, in early spring 2017, if this SSF grant is funded. Workshop participants will consist of the international SBC Arctic project team and (local) Norwegian partners. The main objective are incorporating all relevant Svalbard databases into the project and to identify joined knowledge gaps (relevant for Ny-Ålesund flagship programs). The outcomes of the workshop will be recorded in a brief report and results on data sharing and knowledge gap identification will be included on the SBC Arctic project website. The outcomes will also be shared with the European Commission.